A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

The creature was as deadly as an arrow. No, it was more deadly than that, for even though it could reach similar speeds to an arrow when it really caught the grip of gravity and sped towards its opponent, it could also correct itself mid-flight, making it a mightily difficult task for the average person to dodge.

Seeing it was the battle for Oliver. Now that he'd seen it, the bird was as good as dead. He cut it straight through. With two dead, their chorus was just ever so slightly duller, enough so that he could just barely begin to hear things.

It was a test of perception of the likes that he'd never dealt with before. When Dominus had spoken of sense in the past, he'd spoken of something akin to instinct. When it came to Oliver's weakness of detecting that which was behind him, he could only detect something that he was focusing on, and even then, it was only if he could hear or otherwise detect its approach with his senses.

Dominus' standard seemed to be of a higher sort than that. A level of perception that exceeded basic human senses. Something that wasn't limited by sight, smell, or even sound. A way of sensing the danger itself.

"Ingolsol…" Oliver murmured. The Dark God had always seemed to see through the heart of every creature – at least when the situation was of a magnitude that he was allowed to. As far as senses went, he would likely be the best bet that Oliver had.

The Dark God didn't reply. Both fragments were inconveniently erratic like that. Even they didn't know the conditions that enabled them to vocalize themselves in Oliver's consciousness, they only knew as he did that it seemed to come and go as unpredictably as the wind.

Even without words, though, he could sense Ingolsol's begrudging acknowledgement. Or at least, it was an attempt at seeming begrudging. In truth, Ingolsol loved the activity. He delighted in it. He wanted to see Oliver fight more than any.

It was dangerous to do as he did. In focusing on Ingolsol, Oliver removed the fullest extent of his consciousness from observing his surroundings. That which was left to do the detecting was of a lesser capacity than it otherwise would have been.

Yet, when those two Bell Birds came sweeping towards Oliver's rear, he turned and cut the two of them straight in half, as though he had eyes on the back of his head, and he'd tracked every stage of their coming.

In truth, it was their malice that Oliver had sensed. Or more accurately, that Ingolsol had sensed. Unlike Oliver, the fragment was not limited by eyes. He had no need of them. When Oliver thought he could see an emotion in a man's chest, at times, it was not only with his eyes that he saw it. It was a sensation that went beyond that.

More came. Two from the side, far enough back that his eyes couldn't track it, then two more from the rear. Again, as soon as they were within a certain range of him, Oliver dealt with them as if he'd known that they were there all along. He employed that same light and lunging style that he'd used on the Water Sprites and dismissed as being unlikely to work anywhere else.

He needed to use it, for there were so many coming so quickly at him all at once.

Their own speed lent them their demise. The lightest tap, and they themselves with their speed opened up massive holes in their bodies. One by one, they dropped from the sky and the forest quietened.

It would have been wrong of Oliver not to acknowledge the excitement that he felt in seeing those corpses lying on the floor. He could hardly hide his smile. It was significant enough that it pinned him in place as he processed it.

That which had troubled him for the longest time, for months and months, or even years on end – something that he never seemed to be able to address, no matter how hard he trained. Finally, he'd hit upon a wave of movement that seemed like a solution to it.

To use the fragments of divinity for something other than what they were meant to be used for. A sense above all senses. That must have been it, Oliver realized. Dominus too must have been using the sense that Claudia's fragment had within him of the world, to see things that even he couldn't see.

But, for Oliver, though he could get that same perception from Claudia if he really tried, it was Ingolsol that seemed to have a hand that could really reach out and grip the lifeforms around him. It was an extension of the power that sought to control and command – to dominate. The same resistance to that reach lent an awareness that he would have previously thought to be impossible.

When the Bell Birds were within ten metres of him, he was as aware of them – as long as he focused on his connection with Ingolsol – as if he'd been looking straight at them. Even further away, he was aware of them, as they sat amongst the trees, only their presence was lesser, more foggy. Discover hidden tales at My Virtual Library Empire

As he began to run again, he could feel Ingolsol's smugness oozing out of him, delighting to have one over Claudia in usefulness. The magnanimous Claudia hid her displeasure well though, and endured Ingolsol's gloating as if it were nothing more than the loud noises of a child.

The Bell Birds proved to be lesser opponents after that. Oliver grinned his excitement, casting Ingolsol's awareness far beyond himself, to its furthest reaches, wondering just how far he could take it.

It was another spool in the wheel of progress that he'd been turning all that week, but likely the most significant one that he'd managed to grab. That, along with the discovery of Claudia's 'power' – Oliver wasn't sure if he should call it that – the week before, marked a remarkable shift in Oliver's strength in the shortest amount of time.